Visitors at the photography exhibition in Guwahati. Picture by Eastern Projections

Life and nature at their vivid best dominated the national photography exhibition at State Art Gallery from August 8 to 13.

More than 100 photographs by 30 artists were on display at the six-day Padmashree Dr Robin Banerjee Memorial National Photography Exhibition, held on the Rabindra Bhawan premises.

A majority of the photographs depicted birds in various postures. Ramkrishna Saha’s photograph of a pair of capped kingfishers in a midshot frame enthralled the onlookers with its excellent play of colour and light.

The pair of birds is captured sitting on the branch of a tree, looking outwards.

Four shots capture rare moments of animals cavorting with their mates.

Of these, a photograph by A. Santhil Kumar captures the mating dance of a pair of snakes. A pair of cobras is portrayed dancing in ecstasy against a bright green background.Salunke Harinarayan’s still, titled Masai Lions Mating, shows rare expertise in capturing a pair of lions.

The gigantic forms of the lions feature two contrasting expressions — ferociousness and pleasure.